Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-06-03
Great Fire in New York.
belt LINE ST1BLES DESTROYED.

BELT LINE ST1BLES DESTROYED.
l,G00 HORSES AND MANY CARS ARE
-sEVENTY-FIVE Dwell
LINGs BURNED-OCCUPANTs OF
TENEMENT HOUSES MADE HOME
LEss-THE LOSS NOT LESS THAN
100000.
NEW YORK, May 81, 3 a. NJ
Flames broke ont at 1870 this morn
ing in the south end of the Belt
Line stables, on Tenth avenue, be-
tween Fifty.third and Fifty-fourth
streets. The building was entirely
destroyed, with 1000 horses and
nearly all the cars in the building.
Two blocks of buildings are also in
flames.
The flames were first seen by one
of the night hands, who gave the
alarm. The flames spread rapidly
and soon completely enyelOped the
building in their folds. The build
ing was n fve.story structure, and
covered q square block, reaching
back to Eleventh avenue.
The upper stories were occupied
by the repair shops and combusti-
BILE material, which blazed as soon
as touched by the fire, The Offices
were situated in the southeast cor
ner. They were in flames so quick
w that there was no chance to save
the books of the company.
In the stables were over one thou
sand six hundred horses and sew
eral hundred cars. Only ten horses
aud two cars were saved. The rest
were all burned up.
Ate A. VI. the walls Of the build
ing tell in with a terrible crash,
sending millions Of sparks and
blazing pieces of wood high in the
air. The fire alarm of the three
SKIES had been made as soon as the
fire chief arrived at the scene, and
engines from all parts of the city,
with the water tower and the hook
and ladder companies, were rapid
" coming. The heat from the
flaming building was so great that
several fremen and two policemen
were Frustrated.
At 2:l5 A. NJ. the flames, aided
by the strong high wind which was
prevailing, had leaped across the
wide avenue and communicated to
the whole block on the east side
between Fifty-third and Flfty-fourth
streets. The block was composed
of six story tenement houses and a
coal yard.
The terr0r-stricken tenants pOnr'
ed ont of the building like swarm
of bees, praying, fighting and ours
ing by turns. The scene of terror
was indescribable. The buildings
burned rapidly, though the fronts
facing the avenue were Of brown
stone. By 2:3O they were com
pletely gutted. The flames spread
to the entire square block over tC
Ninth avenue.
A 2:3O A. NJ. the next block he
low had caught on fire and was
blazing nercely.
The streets in the vicinity, fol
blocks away. were filled with fright
ened. crying and woe-stricken ten
ants fleeing from the ravages of the
flames.
The fire attracted thousands o
awe.suuck spectators. The loss Il
the Belt Line people is probably
not less than 100000. 1t is esti
mated at this moment that the en-
tire loss will be over one millioT
dollars.
The tenement-houSes were thick
" peopled. Every floor had from
four to five families. All were poo
people, who will lose all their prop
erty. 1t is not known how the fir
originated. ,.
$40 4. M-Seventy-fye dwell
ings, mostly frame, soap factor
and a larger beer brewery are IN
cluded in the loss. The su fierer
in the tenements are poor people
The aggregate loss will exceed
million dollars. The fire is nov
.,.lo, oopfro1